Sony DSCWX350 18 MP Digital Camera (Black)

Pros:Size20X Optical zoom (40X Digital)Excellent battery lifeGood image qualityVery good image stabilizerHD moviesCons:LED screen can be hard to see in bright sunlight.No viewfinderThis camera is easy to use. For those who want to shoot nice photos without fuss just choose the automated setting you prefer and forget about it. I find the automatic settings produce very good results over all. I think either the Intelligent Auto or Superior Auto (higher quality) setting will produce acceptable results in almost all situations. For movies just press the movie button on the top rear of the camera to begin recording and press it again to stop. It's as simple as that.I have found the auto focus to be quick and accurate under varying conditions. The only exception to this may be long telephoto shots in minimal light. For non telephoto shots in low light the camera has an auto focus illuminator which lights for a second to establish focus. This works well. The camera controls are easy to use and have a nice feel to them..It took a little while for me to get acquainted with Sony's menu system, but once you get the hang of where they put things, it's ok. Frequently adjusted settings such as flash on / off, single shot / burst mode and what info is displayed on the screen and can be selected quickly with one tap on the control wheel on the back of the camera with no need to go into the menus.Shooting still photos couldn't be easier. Aim and press the button, the camera does the rest. The camera produces good images.About Movies. A couple of things I noticed. The sound of the zoom motor that is picked up by the camera is minimal in my opinion. More noticeable was noise in the form of little clicks and squeaks introduced by my fingers physically handling the camera and operating the telephoto zoom switch. Considering the small size of the camera and the close proximity of your hands, controls and the microphones I think that most cameras of this type are going to pick up some sounds. With careful attention to your hands on the camera while shooting movies you should be able to minimize the amount of noise you introduce by physically handling the camera controls. The camera also has a wind noise reduction setting for shooting movies. It seems to be effective.I expected that the image quality of the camera at 20X zoom and especially at 40X (20X optical, 20X digital zoom) would be marginal at best. To my surprise I found that the image stabilization works exceptionally well and that hand held shots at 20X are quite acceptable, even at 40X you can anticipate acceptable results. I shot hand held videos of a hummingbird at a feeder at 30X and the video came out clear and in focus. Amazing.The manual states the camera can use SDHC or SDXC memory cards. When researching which camera to buy, I found conflicting information on various sites whether the SDXC cards were supported. I am happy to report that they are. I am using an SDXC Class 10, 80MB read/write speed, 64GB capacity card with no problems. I would recommend a fast card that can keep up with writing to the card while recording HD movies or taking burst shots. I have not experienced any problems using this card. The manual states that the camera has been tested to accept up to 64GB SDHC or SDXC cards. Implying that it may or may not support larger capacity cards. If you think 64GB may not be enough capacity for you, I might suggest buying extra 64GB cards rather than chancing a larger (and more expensive) card.The camera has a solid feel to it. Some reviews felt that the camera was so small that it was difficult to hold. I do not find this to be the case. I have large hands and have had no problems in that area.I purchased a separate Sony battery charger (Model No. BC-TRX) so I could be charging a battery while using the other battery in the camera. As for charge times. The initial charge using the camera to charge the battery took about 2 ½ hours. Using the Sony battery charger took about 2 hours to fully charge the battery. The difference in charge times may or may not be due to the amount of charge, if any, in the new battery to begin with.I don't have a need for WiFi, so I can't comment on that feature.For those who don't want to deal with a lot of manual settings to take good pictures, this camera should serve you well. If you want or need more manual control over your picture taking this likely isn't the camera for you.AN ADDITIONAL NOTE ON FLASH PHOTOS. Taking a flash photo that is very close to the subject, in my instance about 6", the cameras extended lens casts a small arched shadow in the lower left corner of the picture as it blocks the output of the flash in that direction. Otherwise, the picture taken this close with flash had a good exposure, not too bright or washed out as might be suspected. It looked good.

UPDATE June 11, 2016I Have been extra careful with this camera. AS you see below the lenses are cheap plastic and scratch VERY easily. I just noticed I have a scratch on one of the NEW lenses. I love the camera but hate the lenses. I do not know what I ma going to do but until they improve the quality of the lenses think twice before you buy.April 2016 UPDATE. Still love the cameras BUT this is my second one. As you can read below I had issues with the first on. Turns out the lens is made of plastic so it scratches really easy. I was very careful but still camera #1 would up with two "spots" on the lens. I purchase camera #2 because I really do like them and with in a few months it had 2 "spots" on the lens. Now I had 2 expensive camera that had bad lens. I have a friend that is good a fixing things so he ordered two replacement lens at $50.00 each from EBay and fix both cameras for $20.00 so I have two working cameras for $120.00. I am being REALLY careful with them and we will see how long the lens last this time.But the cameras are great (except for the plastic easily damage lens) and I am glad I now have a back up just in case.below is photo showing the two "spots" in the second cameras photos before we changed lens. Second is after new lens (although you cannot tell if it is fixed because the background is dark) 3rd photo is zoomed, great photos for standing taking photos from almost 1/4 mile away. The photos this camera takes are beautiful.I really like the camera and it takes great photos even when I am using the 20X zoom. The only down part is it has a flimsy cover (much like the old cell phones) to protect the port fro the USB cord. I can see where this will not last long. It is suppose to be wireless so I need to Call Sony as the emails and product manual are not helping. Will give further feed back when I get it hooked up wirelesslyApril 2, 2015 6 months later. The camera was great to begin with but then about 2 months ago photos began to blur. No about 3 out of 7 photos are blurry no matter what I do. Then the shutter that covers the lens when you shut off camera quit opening up all the way. So now I have to check my camera each time to make sure the shutter is completely open or I wind up with these funky looking photo. I am really disappointed because I like the camera and the 20 X zoom was great.April 18, 2015 Maybe I was a bit hasty with complaint. I finally went online to see why the lens shutter/cover was not opening completely. One suggestion was sand or dust had gotten under it and to use the vacuum on it to suck out sand or dust!! Well I was at the end of my rope so I figured why not? Turn camera on, extend lens, place upside down and apply vacuum hose to it. IT WORKED!!!! now my photos are not blurring so I am guessing I was so frustrated with the shutter not opening all the way I was not as careful as I should have been when taking photos.

Dear Sir/Madam,I have received the camera.However, the camera’s menu is in Japanese, and there is no option to change the language.I do not speak Japanese, and under these circumstances, I am unable to use the camera.There was no mention anywhere during the purchase that the camera’s menu would be in Japanese.If it is not possible to change the language, I kindly request to return the camera and receive a full refund.Sincerely,AmirSaado